U.S. patent application number 14/660777 was filed with the patent office on 2015-10-01 for airbag device.
The applicant listed for this patent is Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha. Invention is credited to Shinya INOUE, Isamu NAGASAWA.
Application Number | 20150274114 14/660777 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54066976 |
Filed Date | 2015-10-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150274114 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
NAGASAWA; Isamu ; et
al. |
October 1, 2015 |
AIRBAG DEVICE
Abstract
An airbag device includes an airbag body that inflates and
deploys between a foot of a seated person and a floor panel of a
vehicle. The airbag body includes: a rear inflating portion
inflatable rearwardly from a heel of the seated person and upwardly
higher than a bottom face of the foot in the inflation and
deployment form of the airbag body, and a front inflating portion
inflatable forwardly from a toe of the seated person and upwardly
higher than a bottom face of the foot in the inflation and
deployment form of the airbag body.
Inventors: |
NAGASAWA; Isamu; (Tokyo,
JP) ; INOUE; Shinya; (Tokyo, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Family ID: |
54066976 |
Appl. No.: |
14/660777 |
Filed: |
March 17, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
280/730.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 21/231 20130101;
B60R 2021/23176 20130101; B60R 21/2334 20130101; B60R 21/20
20130101 |
International
Class: |
B60R 21/231 20060101
B60R021/231; B60R 21/2334 20060101 B60R021/2334 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 28, 2014 |
JP |
2014-068446 |
Claims
1. An airbag device comprising an airbag body that inflates and
deploys between a foot of a seated person and a floor panel of a
vehicle, wherein the airbag body includes: a rear inflating portion
inflatable rearwardly from a heel of the seated person and upwardly
higher than a bottom face of the foot in inflation and deployment
form of the airbag body, and a front inflating portion inflatable
forwardly from a toe of the seated person and upwardly higher than
the bottom face of the foot in inflation and deployment form of the
airbag body.
2. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the airbag body
includes: a heel side inflating portion inflatable laterally from
the heel of the seated person and upwardly higher than the bottom
face of the foot in inflation and deployment form of the airbag
body, and a toe side inflating portion inflatable laterally from
the toe of the seated person and upwardly higher than the bottom
face of the foot in inflation and deployment form of the airbag
body.
3. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein in the airbag
body, the rear inflating portion and the front inflating portion
are integrally formed.
4. The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein in the airbag
body, the rear inflating portion and the front inflating portion
are integrally formed.
5. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein, in the airbag
body, the rear inflating portion and the heel side inflating
portion inflate and deploy in an initial stage of a collision, and
the front inflating portion and the toe side inflating portion
inflate and deploy in a latter stage of the collision.
6. The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein, in the airbag
body, the rear inflating portion and the heel side inflating
portion inflate and deploy in an initial stage of a collision, and
the front inflating portion and the toe side inflating portion
inflate and deploy in a latter stage of the collision.
7. The airbag device according to claim 3, wherein, in the airbag
body, the rear inflating portion and the heel side inflating
portion inflate and deploy in an initial stage of a collision, and
the front inflating portion and the toe side inflating portion
inflate and deploy in a latter stage of the collision.
8. The airbag device according to claim 4, wherein, in the airbag
body, the rear inflating portion and the heel side inflating
portion inflate and deploy in an initial stage of a collision, and
the front inflating portion and the toe side inflating portion
inflate and deploy in a latter stage of the collision.
9. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the floor panel
is provided with either one of an operating pedal and a footrest,
and the airbag body inflates and deploys so as to cover the either
one of the operating pedal and the footrest.
10. The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein the floor panel
is provided with either one of an operating pedal and a footrest,
and the airbag body inflates and deploys so as to cover the either
one of the operating pedal and the footrest.
11. The airbag device according to claim 3, wherein the floor panel
is provided with either one of an operating pedal and a footrest,
and the airbag body inflates and deploys so as to cover the either
one of the operating pedal and the footrest.
12. The airbag device according to claim 4, wherein the floor panel
is provided with either one of an operating pedal and a footrest,
and the airbag body inflates and deploys so as to cover the either
one of the operating pedal and the footrest.
13. The airbag device according to claim 5, wherein the floor panel
is provided with either one of an operating pedal and a footrest,
and the airbag body inflates and deploys so as to cover the either
one of the operating pedal and the footrest.
14. The airbag device according to claim 6, wherein the floor panel
is provided with either one of an operating pedal and a footrest,
and the airbag body inflates and deploys so as to cover the either
one of the operating pedal and the footrest.
15. The airbag device according to claim 7, wherein the floor panel
is provided with either one of an operating pedal and a footrest,
and the airbag body inflates and deploys so as to cover the either
one of the operating pedal and the footrest.
16. The airbag device according to claim 8, wherein the floor panel
is provided with either one of an operating pedal and a footrest,
and the airbag body inflates and deploys so as to cover the either
one of the operating pedal and the footrest.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent
Application No. 2014-068446 filed on Mar. 28, 2014, the entire
contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Technical Field
[0003] The present disclosure relates to an airbag device,
particularly, to an airbag device having an airbag body that
inflates and deploys between a leg of a seated person and the floor
panel of a vehicle.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] In some collisions a force is applied to a leg of a
passenger due to an impact at the time of a collision of a vehicle,
the force including a vehicle width direction moment (hereinafter
also referred to as a transverse moment) Mx, a vehicle fore-and-aft
direction moment (hereinafter also referred to as a fore-and-aft
moment) My, and an axis direction load (hereinafter also referred
to as an axial load) Fz. As a result, the leg is thrown in an
unexpected direction and damaged.
[0006] In order to protect a leg against the above-mentioned
moments and the axial load, there are known techniques that protect
the leg by inflating an airbag at the time of a collision.
[0007] For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application
Publication (JP-A) No. 11-11242 discloses a technology in which a
stopper member for receiving the heel of a foot of a seated person
is formed by an airbag. The stopper member is placed on the floor
surface of a vehicle cabin to protect the heel from being pushed
into between an operating pedal and the floor panel due to the
moment My caused by an impact of a collision.
[0008] For another example, an airbag device disclosed in Japanese
Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2008-254523
includes an airbag having a. The heel rest base is disposed on the
floor of a vehicle forwardly of a front seat and, both heels of a
passenger seated on the front seat are placeable on the heel rest.
The airbag device is capable of preventing dorsiflexion and twist
of the ankles of the seated passenger by inflation of the
airbag.
[0009] It is known that an impact load at the time of a head-on
collision of a vehicle occurs in two stages for an initial load and
a latter load. That is, an initial load is caused by an inertial
force that is generated by a collision, and the latter load is
caused by deformation of the vehicle body, such as rearward
movement of a toe board. FIG. 4 is a schematic graph illustrating
the two stage load.
[0010] Here, an inertial force is applied to the legs of a seated
person due to a load F1 in the first stage at time t=t1, and thus a
high axial load Fz occurs. In addition, a so-called lift up
phenomenon is induced in which a latter load F2 in the second stage
at time t=t2 causes deformation of the vehicle body, and thus a
high vehicle fore-and-aft direction moment My to a foot causes a
corresponding leg to be thrown forward on the floor panel in the
vehicle body.
[0011] Although the technology of JP-A No. 11-11242 is capable of
preventing a foot from being caught between the floor panel and the
operating pedal, only the central portion of the bottom surface of
the foot is buffered by an airbag, and a buffering effect for
protecting the leg from the above-mentioned axial load Fz is not
sufficiently obtained. Furthermore, the disclosure of JP-A No.
11-11242 does not provide the effect of protecting the leg from
lift up of the floor panel due to the vehicle fore-and-aft
direction moment My.
[0012] The technology described in JP-A No. 2008-254523 protects a
heel with the heel rest base, and thus an effect for protecting the
leg from the axial load Fz is obtained to some extent. However, no
approach is made at all to prevent the lift up of the floor panel
due to the vehicle fore-and-aft direction moment My.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The present disclosure has been made in view of the
above-described problem and an object thereof is to provide an
airbag device capable of reliably prevent damage to the legs of a
seated person due to an axial load and a vehicle fore-and-aft
direction moment at the time of a vehicle collision.
[0014] In an aspect of the disclosure provides an airbag device
including an airbag body that inflates and deploys between a leg of
a seated person and a floor panel of a vehicle. The airbag body
includes: a rear inflating portion inflatable rearwardly from a
heel of a seated person and upwardly higher than a bottom face of a
corresponding foot in inflation and deployment form of the airbag
body, and a front inflating portion inflatable forwardly from a toe
of the seated person and upwardly higher than a bottom face of the
foot in inflation and deployment form of the airbag body.
[0015] The airbag body may include a heel side inflating portion
inflatable laterally from the heel of the seated person and
upwardly higher than the bottom face of the foot in inflation and
deployment form of the airbag body, and a toe side inflating
portion inflatable laterally from the toe of the seated person and
upwardly higher than the bottom face of the foot in inflation and
deployment form of the airbag body.
[0016] In the airbag body, the rear inflating portion and the front
inflating portion may be integrally formed.
[0017] In the airbag body, the rear inflating portion and the heel
side inflating portion may inflate and deploy in an initial stage
of a collision, and the front inflating portion and the toe side
inflating portion may inflate and deploy in a latter stage of the
collision.
[0018] The floor panel may be provided with either one of an
operating pedal or a footrest, and the airbag body may inflate and
deploy so as to cover the either one of the operating pedal or the
footrest.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIGS. 1A and 1B are each an illustration depicting the
manner of inflation and deployment of an airbag body of an airbag
device according to a first implementation of the present
disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 2 is an illustration depicting the manner of inflation
and deployment of the airbag body of the airbag device according to
the first implementation.
[0021] FIGS. 3A and 3B are each an illustration depicting the
manner of inflation and deployment of an airbag body in an airbag
device according to a second implementation.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating a distribution over time of
an impact load at the time of a head-on collision of a vehicle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
First Implementation
[0023] An implementation according to the present disclosure will
be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the present implementation, an example will be described in
which an airbag device 10 is applied to the floor panel of the
driver's seat of a vehicle.
[0024] FIGS. 1A, 1B and FIG. 2 are each an illustration depicting
the manner of inflation and deployment of the airbag body of the
airbag device according to the present implementation.
[0025] As depicted in FIG. 1A, a floor panel 12 on the driver's
seat has a toe board 14 that extends upwardly forward from the
front end of the floor panel 12, and a dashboard 16 that extends
upward from the upper end of the toe board 14. Also, an operating
pedal 18 such as an accelerator pedal is disposed at a position
nearer to a seated person than the dashboard 16. FIG. 1A
illustrates a situation in which a foot f of a leg L of a seated
person is placed on the operating pedal 18.
[0026] In the present implementation, an outer layer 20 such as a
carpet is formed diagonally under the operating pedal 18 over the
toe board 14, and a folded non-elastic airbag body 22 including an
inflator 24 is stored within the outer layer 20.
[0027] The airbag device 10 according to the present implementation
includes the airbag body 22 and the inflator 24.
[0028] At the time of a collision, upon receiving a signal from an
acceleration sensor (not illustrated), the inflator 24 is
activated, thereby causing the airbag body 22 to inflate and
deploy. The airbag body 22, when inflating and deploying, breaks
through the outer layer 20 so as to cover the foot f of a seated
person.
[0029] More particularly, in the present implementation, when a
load due to a collision is detected by the acceleration sensor (for
example, at t=t0 in FIG. 4), the inflator 24 is activated and gas
is introduced through a pipe (not illustrated) to cause the airbag
body 22 to inflate and deploy. At this moment, the airbag body 22
forms a rear inflating portion 22a and a front inflating portion
22b, the rear inflating portion 22a in its inflation and deployment
form being inflatable rearwardly from a heel fh of a seated person
and upwardly higher than a bottom face fb1 of the foot, the front
inflating portion 22b in its inflation and deployment form being
inflatable forwardly from a toe ft of the seated person and
upwardly higher than a bottom face fb2 of the foot.
[0030] In addition, in the present implementation, the airbag body
22 forms heel side inflating portions 22c and toe side inflating
portions 22d, the heel side inflating portions 22c in its inflation
and deployment form being inflatable laterally from the heel fh of
the seated person and upwardly higher than the bottom face fb1 of
the foot, the toe side inflating portions 22d in its inflation and
deployment form being inflatable laterally from the toe ft of the
seated person and upwardly higher than the bottom face fb2 of the
foot.
[0031] Consequently, at the time of a collision, the airbag body 22
inflates so as to cover the heel fh of the foot of a seating person
by the rear inflating portion 22a, and cover the toe ft of the
seating person by the front inflating portion 22b.
[0032] Accordingly, an axial load Fz due to a vehicle collision is
buffered by part of the rear inflating portion 22a that covers the
heel fh of the foot, and thus damage to the leg L of a seated
person due to the axial load Fz is protected. In addition, a moment
My in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body is buffered by
part of the front inflating portion 22b that covers the tow ft of
the foot, and thus damage to the leg due to lift up phenomenon is
protected in which the leg L of the seated person is pushed forward
by the moment My in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle
body.
[0033] Furthermore, the above-described heel side inflating
portions 22c and toe side inflating portions 22d are capable of
entirely covering and holding the sides of the foot, and thus a
lateral moment Mx may be buffered, which may cause the leg f of a
seated person to be twisted in a vehicle width direction at the
time of a collision. Consequently, damage to the leg L of a seated
person at the time of a collision may be protected more
reliably.
[0034] Particularly, in the present implementation, as clearly seen
from FIG. 1B, the airbag body 22 inflates and deploys so as to
cover the operating pedal 18 on the floor panel 12. In this manner,
the airbag body 22 inflates and deploys so as to cover the
operating pedal 18 on which a foot of a seated person is probably
placed at the time of a collision, thereby reliably protecting the
leg L of the seated person from damage due to the collision.
(Second Implementation)
[0035] Hereinafter, a second implementation will be described in
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be
noted that the same elements as in the first implementation will be
denoted by the same symbol and a description will be omitted. FIGS.
3A and 3B schematically illustrate the manner of inflation and
deployment of the airbag body 22 according to the present
implementation. It should be noted that the toe board 14, the
dashboard 16, and the inflator 24 are not illustrated for the sake
of simplification of the drawing.
[0036] The feature of the airbag device 10 according to the present
implementation is that in an initial stage of a collision, as
illustrated in FIG. 3A, the airbag body 22 inflates entirely in the
direction (the direction of arrow A of in FIG. 3A) in which the
axial load F received by the leg L is cancelled, and the rear
inflating portion 22a and the heel side inflating portions 22c of
the airbag body 22 inflate and deploy. Subsequently, in a latter
stage of the collision, as illustrated in FIG. 3B, the front
inflating portion 22b and the toe side inflating portions 22d
inflate and deploy.
[0037] That is, the time for inflation and deployment is shifted
between the rear, heel side inflating portions 22a and 22c and the
front, toe side inflating portions 22b and 22d.
[0038] In the present implementation, in this manner, inflow
control of gas with the inflator 24 enables a configuration in
which the rear inflating portion 22a and the heel side inflating
portions 22c inflate and deploy in an initial stage of a collision,
and the front inflating portion 22b and the toe side inflating
portions 22d inflate and deploy in the latter stage of the
collision, whereas all of the rear inflating portion 22a, the front
inflating portion 22b, the heel side inflating portion 22c, and the
toe side inflating portion 22d are integrally formed as a single
airbag body 22.
[0039] Specifically, after the inflation and deployment of the rear
inflating portion 22a and the heel side inflating portions 22c in
an initial stage of a collision, an increase of internal pressure
due to occurrence of the axial load Fz is detected, and the front
inflating portion 22b and the toe side inflating portions 22d are
caused to inflate and deploy. That is, when a first stage load F1
at t=t1 is detected by the above-mentioned acceleration sensor, the
front inflating portion 22b and the toe side inflating portions 22d
are caused to inflate and deploy.
[0040] Thus, with the airbag device according to the present
implementation, the rear inflating portion 22a and the heel side
inflating portions 22c inflate and deploy in an initial stage of a
collision in which a first stage impact load occurs.
[0041] That is, the rear inflating portion 22a and the heel side
inflating portions 22c of the airbag body 22 inflate and deploy so
as to resist the axial load Fz that occurs in the first stage of a
collision, and thus the axial load Fz may be buffered.
[0042] In the latter stage of the collision in which the second
stage impact load occurs, the front inflating portion 22b and the
toe side inflating portions 22d inflate and deploy. That is, the
front inflating portion 22b and the toe side inflating portions 22d
of the airbag body 22 inflate and deploy so as to resist the moment
My in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body, which occurs
in the second stage of the collision, and thus the moment My in the
fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body may be buffered.
[0043] Consequently, the foot may be reliably protected against the
moment My that causes movement exceeding a movable range of foot
joint.
[0044] With the above-described configuration, in the present
implementation, the portions of the airbag body 22 may be
separately caused to inflate so as to suitably buffer the impact
force Fz and the moments My, and Mx that occur with a certain time
lag on the order of msec in a series of stages of a collision, and
thus damage to the leg L at the time of a collision may be
protected more reliably.
[0045] Furthermore, in the present implementation, as described
above, all inflating portions are formed as the single integrated
airbag body 22 although the times of inflation and deployment of
the rear, heel side inflating portions 22a and 22c and the front,
toe side inflating portions 22b and 22d are shifted. Therefore, the
inflating portions are not needed to be separately formed and thus
the cost for implementing the airbag body 22 may be reduced.
[0046] It should be noted that the present disclosure is not
limited to the above-described implementations and various
modifications may be made within the scope of the disclosure. For
example, in the present implementation, the airbag device 10 is
provided in the area of the footrest of the floor panel 12 under
the driver's seat. However, without being limited to this, for
example, it is possible to install the airbag device 10 as a module
to the shaft of an operating pedal. That is, the airbag device 10
may be provided in an operating pedal such as the accelerator pedal
or the brake pedal of the driver's seat.
[0047] In addition, the airbag device 10 is not necessarily
provided in the driver's seat, and may be provided in, for example,
a passenger seat or a backseat. In this case, similarly to the
driver's seat, the airbag device 10 may be provided on the toe
board at the footrest with an outer layer on the airbag device
10.
[0048] In the above-described implementation, the single airbag
body 22 is integrally formed so as to include all of the rear
inflating portion 22a, the front inflating portion 22b, the heel
side inflating portions 22c, and the toe side inflating portions
22d. However, without being limited to this, the above-described
inflation and deployment for each of the initial stage and the
latter stage of a collision may be achieved, for example, by
forming one airbag body for the rear inflating portion 22a and the
heel side inflating portions 22c and another airbag body for the
front inflating portion 22b and the toe side inflating portions 22d
with the inflator 24 separately provided.
[0049] In this case, a configuration may be achieved in which in
response to detection of a load at t=t0, for example, the airbag
including the rear inflating portion 22a and the heel side
inflating portions 22c inflate and deploy, and subsequently, in
response to detection of the first load F1 (or immediately after
the detection), the front inflating portion 22b and the toe side
inflating portions 22d inflate and deploy, so that the times of
inflation and deployment of the rear, heel side inflating portions
22a and 22c and the front, toe side inflating portions 22b and 22d
are shifted.
* * * * *